


Plain of Tears

by AnselaJonla



Series: Prompt fills [42]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantastic Racism, Gen, Mild Language, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnselaJonla/pseuds/AnselaJonla
Summary: A fic written for a prompt on the r/WritingPrompts subreddit:[WP] A farmer’s family was once troubled by the warring armies and factions that once fought near their homestead. That is until a dragon moved in nearby. Now everything’s nice and peaceful, and they’ve got a fun neighbor.
Series: Prompt fills [42]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1097823
Kudos: 1





	Plain of Tears

Many legends are told of great battles against the armies of darkness. Songs beyond number are sung about valiant duels between knights and beasts. All of these have one overarching theme: the forces of good prevail. _Our_ people prevail, every single time.

What isn't told are our losses. Our defeats. And especially our greatest humiliation.

This is a shameful period of our history, and one that few now know of. I am only telling you as you're going to be one of our leading generals, and you _have_ to know. For to not know is to repeat the same mistakes that our predecessors made.

The Plain of Tears was the site of many of our greatest battles. A great region where several rivers met, its ownership was disputed by the five neighbouring kingdoms, including our own. It was well named, as many lives were lost there, from all sides of the many ongoing conflicts we were then engaged in. Rarely did a season go by without some army or another clashing on that blood-soaked ground. It is not surprising, in light of such history, that such a terrible beast as a dragon would be drawn to such a place.

Oh, I see the look of horror on your face. A dragon is a rare creature, and one that any general would _love_ to lead a mission to defeat. But this was no mere wyrm, bent only on wanton destruction and death. This was an elder dragon, a fearsome beast capable of destroying entire armies. Its scales are an armour stronger than any our smiths can create. Its breath is hotter than any forge. Its claws are sharper and longer than any sword. Its mouth can engulf a knight and its mount in one go.

The Grillish army was the first to encounter the dragon. They were marching across the disputed lands, pillaging what they could from that region as they went, and killing or raping the inhabitants as they saw fit.

Yes, there were those who resided on the Plain of Tears, clinging to what life they could eke out of the war-torn land. They were mongrels, mutts, the children of whores, the products of rape. Unwanted and untrusted by all, their mixed heritage clear in their features, they had nowhere else to go. So they clung to the Plain of Tears, abused and killed with impunity by all those who resided in "real" kingdoms.

We were not blameless in this, I am sorry to say. That many men are hard to control, and the privations of a long march cause their passions to be inflamed when they get even a hint of something forbidden to them. More than one Plains bastard bore Frixian blood in their veins.

The Grillish army was defeated by the dragon with ease. Body parts were left strewn all over the plain. Our scouts were quick to report back on these events, and our own armies were assembled. We rendezvoused, quite by accident, with the Hurz on the way to the Plain. As they were, at the time, considered allies we marched together.

When we reached the Plain of Tears the dragon was aground, its great bulk resting by one of the few villages on the Plains. Well, what _passed_ for one. Plains buildings were crude back then, barely more than mud huts with straw roofs. Nothing that would withstand even a glancing blow from a catapult's rocks.

Not that our generals cared for such things. Plains bastards were, after all, considered to be less than human, good only for slaking the passions of the soldiers or testing the swing of a blade before battle was joined. And while the dragon was on the ground, they thought, it would be easy prey. The catapults were brought into position, and fired at the beast.

Not a single rock landed. With one massive bellow and a gout of fire, the beast turned them into ash in mid air. Before the first flake touched the ground, it took flight.

The catapults were destroyed on its first flaming pass. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. A second and third pass decimated the armies, men turned to torches by the heat, knights roasted alive in their armour. Horses panicked, fleeing from the fire, heedless of their riders' attempts to turn them back.

And then it landed. This was not a reprieve for the two armies. With claws and teeth, the beast slaughtered noble and commoner alike. The armies disintegrated, men fleeing in every which direction, trying to escape the carnage. And the whole time the bastards of the Plains watched, huddled in their village. The dragon allowed any man to flee, if he dropped his weapon, as long as they didn't go towards the village. Those who tried were quickly killed.

My own great grandfather, then a mere merchant's son with a bought rank of Lieutenant, was one of those who escaped, and he managed to take two score of his men to safety with him. For _that_ we were given our noble title.

It quickly became clear that the dragon was, for some reason, protecting the bastard village. And every other settlement of the Plain, and the inhabitants within that region. Fighting over the Plain of Tears soon stopped.

The Plains are peaceful these days, but those who live there are still mongrels. Traitors and fugitives from all over have fled there, including from Frixia. Those mutts are a blight on our border. A blight we must tolerate, for the dragon still resides within the Plain's borders, but we will never consider them our _equals_.

With this knowledge, the importance of your task should be clear to you now. You will reinforce the border with the Plain of Tears, and allow none to cross in either direction, but you must _not_ cross the army into "their" lands. The dragon will strike without warning or mercy if you do.

One day a weapon to bring down an elder dragon will be created, but until then we must not provoke it.


End file.
